MicroCell End of Life Has Been Announced

@windracer

You might want to talk to AT&T about getting a metrocell.  They are designed for business users and can do LTE instead of just 3g.

https://www.business.att.com/solutions/Family/mobility-services/in-building/

They are however substantially more expensive than the microcells were.

My microcell was still working as of this morning.

@nwhaynes - the MicroCell service is still active and will continue to be so for some time. AT&T's metro cell system is a DAS (Distributed Antenna System) and is similar in function to cellular boosters. The MicroCell is, and always has been 3G only. It will work with 4G/LTE handsets but only at the 3G protocols.

@windracer - what we recommend is to either use the MicroCell or WiFi-C, but not both at the same time. The reason being is that the phone may have difficulty in knowing which signal to lock on to, either your WiFi for WiFi-C or the MicroCell's cellular 3G signal. Some phones can handle that better than others. The other option is put your phone in Airplane Mode to disable its cellular radio so that it will only connect to your WiFi signal for WiFi-C. WiFi-C is not the same thing as WiFi so we recommend leaving WiFi enabled on your phone when using the MicroCell so that data is handled by your WiFi connection and voice is handle by the MicroCell. Again, some phones handle that better than others.

I have been pushing AT&T for quite some time now to make some sort of official announcement, better than what they did for the discontinuance of sales, but haven't been able to get much traction. I would like them to send out a text to all active MicroCell accounts announcing the service shutdown with some sort of explanation (which, if they do give one, will probably be lame). Hopefully I will be able to post something in advance of that like I did for EOL announcement last October and another reminder in  December. That's one of the reasons I put together the Cellular Booster Guide and direct folks to that document. It is an option, albeit and expensive one depending on the level you want/need, but it is an option to consider.

@nwhaynes interesting, thanks for the link! I will definitely check that out. I wonder why AT&T didn't suggest that to me originally instead of two separate MCells.

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@windracer wrote:

@nwhaynes interesting, thanks for the link! I will definitely check that out. I wonder why AT&T didn't suggest that to me originally instead of two separate MCells.

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@windracerBecause they don't have one to recommend, or not that I've ever known of, and just buy a "random" one will sometimes just get you a $300 or more pile-of-parts-with-LEDs.

I have GREAT results with my MobileForce units, for travel anyway. I  believe these are under a larger parent company, and the consumer line has changed names, but I haven't tracked it.

The one trick is (beyond buying one that actually boosts the signal), and possibly the other reason they don't recommend them (and probably covered in the guide, I think we all talked about this when it was written), is that you must have *some* semblance of cell signal, for it to work, at your location.  If you have a weak signal, they often work great, as has been my experience, but if you have no signal, then the best booster out there won't do anything, it has to have a signal, to start, even if it's a really weak one.

You can put directional-antennas, such as the Yagi style on your house, if you're using a fixed location, and if there's a really weak signal, they can (along with the booster) really pull in the weak signal and make it a decent one.

In the past I've had people try "network cell info lite", it does a good job of showing you what your area has, in terms of overall signal(s), and is a decent way to do a "survey" of your location, and get a feel for if a booster is workable.

Thirdly, the "inside area of coverage" can be pretty small, unless you get into the really expensive boosters, IME.  For example, my 300 travel booster is great, in maybe a 8x8 area, or possibly a bit larger if there are no obstructions (walls, METAL of most types, etc) but the price goes up quite dramatically, say to get 100x100 coverage, or multiple floors.  I'm also a bit suspect about the EMR, on these larger units, given that the smaller ones warn about not being too close to the indoor antenna, and they're designed for a pretty tiny area...

@windracer and @pgrey - It appears that the AT&T MetroCell is intended for business use and not  home use. I'm trying to get a little more detailed info on it. However, it is similar to the MicroCell in that it requires specific inbound/outbound ports to remain open 24x7 (9 instead of the 4 required for the MicroCell), DHCP is on, MTU is set to 1492 or greater, MAC address filtering is set to off unless you use the MAC address of Alcatel-Lucent 9962, IPSec Passthrough is enabled, and Block Fragmented Packets is disabled.

I haven't been able to get any cost info yet but it may be a monthly subscription or contract situation unlike the MicroCell which is a one time cost. Installation/configuration is tricky in that it is a cellular booster, so cables need to be run and specific addresses  need to be configured. If it were me, I'd look into the cellular boosters that are listed in my Cellular Booster Guide (link is in my sig line) instead of being tied to AT&T with the MetroCell.

UPDATE: The basic MetroCell kit costs $5,000 and installation is $1,500, unless you want to install it yourself. Definitely for business use and not home use.

@OttoPylot Yeah, because walking most people through that config, on who-knows-what-router is probably a huge nightmare, unless you're pretty tech-y, or work in IT (sure I could easily confirm/set those, as could you, but I bet 90-some percent would have no idea), and that cost, obviously a business-use item.

I wonder if this means they'll finally allow WiFi-call/text, on non-branded devices?  Seems like they'll be effectively removing service to these, at any location that was using the Microcell?  

I'm not sure telling someone to ditch their OnePlus 6, in favor of a branded AT&T device is going to be super-popular, with anyone...

@pgrey - yeah, if you look at the requirement settings it's very daunting. I think that's why AT&T charges $1500 for installation/setup. Installing a cellular booster system can be complicated, even the ones that I have referenced in my Cellular Booster Guide.

I never had any issues with the MicroCell as far as calls in/out, SMS/MMS, or using WiFi. Who knows what AT&T is going to do with WiFi-C and non-branded phones (phones that AT&T doesn't currently sell). We switched to WiFi-C exclusively once we moved in January and have relegated my collection of MicroCells to the "electronic wasteland" which is a cabinet in the garage.

@OttoPylot Yeah, makes sense, on the MetroCell, I'm sure there's some "service agreement" or similar, that comes along with that 1500 (you'd hope anyway).

It's a bit "odd", I can now see BOTH WiFi calling AND VoLTE in my carrier (SIM) menu, where it didn't exist a few weeks ago.  

While it doesn't actually do anything (calls and texts are still waiting, or wanting me to turn off Airplane Mode), a bit odd as well, it sure looks like AT&T is messing around with provisioning non-carrier devices.

@lizdance40Do you see the same, on your non-branded devices now?